Page 56 of The Highlander's Captured Bride
“Nay,” she grinned. “But we have time for ye to teach me.”
* * *
As he had suspected, the water was warm. The pads of his feet rested on the flat stones of the riverbed but his eyes were on Violet. It was not sunset yet but the bright orb was dimming and taking on an orangish hue goes on dimming. A tint of pink was barely coloring the sky and the silver-blue river became a kaleidoscope as the colors deepened. A flock of birds was cackling on a nearby tree, drawing his attention momentarily before it swung back to the river and Violet.
“Turn back around,” he said with his arms laid out. “Remember, ken of it as yer laying on a bed.”
Her thin smock was soaked right through and clung to her body, outlining every dip and curve of her body. It hardly hid anything but she wore it to have a semblance of modesty. He was teaching her how to float on the water, and obediently, Violet laid back and rested on his hands. As her feet came up, he sensed stiffness in her body.
“Close yer eyes and breathe, love,” he said. “Ye’ll sink like a stone if ye are so stiff.”
She sucked in a deep breath and her body softened but she was still rigid. “A little more, come on, breathe and loosen up, I’m here, I won’t let ye go.”
Her eyes flicked open and looked at him briefly before they closed and her body finally went lax. Gradually, he lowered his hands from her body but did not step away. Her body rested on the water, bobbing with the soft tide and quiet. Until a bird squawked so hard, Violet jumped out of her daze.
He grabbed her, before she flailed and sucked in enough water to drown herself. Her head snapped side to side in fright while her body was flush against his. It was wrong, but he laughed, only to earn himself a glare and a soft strike to his bare chest.
“What?” he asked, barely holding in his mirth.
“Ye laughed,” she said sweetly with narrowed eyes. “Ye’ll be paying for that later.”
As she moved off toward the banks, he looped his arms around her waist and pulled her back to his chest, dropped his mouth to her ear and asked, “Really, how?”
Gooseflesh rose on her wet skin at the pass of his breath and as his left hand slid up her side to cup her breast, she shivered. Her lips parted but only her breath slid out. When her eyelids fluttered and dipped on the droplets on her cheek, the sun’s ochre hue shimmered gold over her skin.
Swallowing over the tight knot in his throat, he dipped and pressed a kiss to the side of her neck. “We should—” he cleared his throat. “—get back inside, it will get cold very soon.”
With her eyes on the shifting water, Violet nodded wordlessly. On the bank, he quickly donned a shirt and stepped into old loose trousers while staring pointedly at the river while Violet put on her dress. Gazing at the waters, he felt the small tumult in his stomach settle when he looked back at Violet.
She smoothed her wet hair back and arched an eyebrow to him, “Something wrong?”
Tilting his head slightly, he shook it, “Nay, everything is right.”
Walking back to the cabin, he felt the flash of lust simmer to a quieter emotion. Inside, he hopped out into the backyard to make sure the horses had water and then went back to see Violet in her simple cotton nightdress. She was stirring the pot and the scent of the stewed meat had him hungry but he craved Violet more than the food.
Spinning a chair, he rested his forearms on the back just to watch her. Sable tresses were curling at her nape and she lifted a hand to absentmindedly brush stubborn tendrils away. Her skin glowed in the simple firelight.
Putting the pot’s cover back on she nodded, “It won’t be a while but it’ll need to warm up a good while.” Seated, she rested her head on the wall. “I had a wonderful time, thank ye.”
Propping his head on a fist, Ethan said, “Dae ye have any inkling the number of memories I have had in this cabin? They’re nay much but all of them are more special to me than rare gems.”
Tucking her knees under her chin, Violet prodded, “I’d like to hear some…but not if it’s too troubling.”
Shaking his head, Ethan pulled up his earliest memories of being inside this cabin and shared how his five-year-old-self had run around the backyard chasing the birds that pitched there, hoping to catch one. A warm feeling settled in his chest when a memory of Finley pinning him to the floor and tickling him to breathlessness.
Tales followed tales of his boyhood here in the hunting cabin about the adventures he and his brother would find themselves in. He only paused when the food was served but jumped right back in.
Pointing his spoon knife at the spot over their heads, he pointed to a rafter that had a dark spot in it. “We almost burnt the cabin down, thank God we got it out before Faither came back from hunting our dinner. When he did come back and cut that rabbit throat, I dinnae ken what made the worst mess on the grass, the rabbit’s blood or me stomach. He was more worried about making sure I’d eat something than looking up to the ceiling.”
Slapping her hand over her mouth, Violet swallowed, before she spoke, “So he never looked up?”
“Nae,” he said finishing his food. “Finley and I made sure he was always preoccupied during the three days he was here. He never saw it.”
Taking her bowl and his to the washing basin, she said over her shoulder. “I wish I could add more happy tales but unless ye want to hear tales of me faither’s failed attempts at playing dolls with me, I dinnae ken I’ll have anything interesting to say.”
Edging up behind her, he wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her neck, “I dinnae mind. Naything ye can say will bore me.”
“Consider that when me stories put ye to sleep,” she smirked.
